On an ordinary weekday, the Bank of America lot at 1245 Lincoln Avenue is a place to leave the car for two hours while you run errands downtown. Between now and the week before Christmas, it does a lot more. The Willow Glen Business Association uses it for Holiday Bubbly Walk check-in, as the trolley boarding point and for free event parking. On Bubbly Walk day it also holds the portable restrooms.
So you plan Willow Glen's holiday season around that lot and the few hundred feet of Lincoln Avenue between the Garden Theater at 1165 and the lot at 1245. The calendar is easy to find. The real limits are check-in windows, departure times, seat counts and kitchen hours. They decide whether an evening goes smoothly or ends in a scramble for dinner after the restaurants close.
The season, in order
The Willow Glen Business Association's events page lists the 2026 holiday events. In date order:
- Small Business Saturday, November 28. All day and open to the public. The WGBA says participating businesses will post their deals as they announce them.
- Holiday Bubbly Walk, Saturday, December 5, 2 to 5 p.m. The early-bird ticket is $60 plus taxes and fees through November 29. From November 30 the price is $65.
- Holiday Trolley Rides, December 6 through 17. That's 12 nights, with six departures each night.
- Selfies with Santa, December 12, 13, 19 and 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. These take place inside the Garden Theater. They're free, and donations are accepted.
The Willow Glen Farmers' Market runs alongside all of this every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Willow Glen Elementary, rain or shine.
Three of those four events use the 1245 Lincoln lot or the theater a block away. Small Business Saturday is the only one with no fixed meeting point.
The Bubbly Walk starts at 2 p.m., but check-in starts at noon
The Holiday Bubbly Walk is billed as the WGBA's most popular wine walk of the year. Ticket holders visit locations along Lincoln Avenue for sparkling wine while they browse for holiday gifts. Each ticket includes the tastings, a souvenir glass, a wristband and a map of the tasting sites.
Many of this year's participating locations are shops and studios rather than restaurants. Among them are Mariette Chocolates, Hidden Jewel Antiques, The Thrift Box, Aldea Home & Baby, BellaJames, Gal in the Glen & Sprouted Twig, Whatnots And Dodads and the San Jose School of Music. A few food spots are also on the list, including Sushi Confidential, Copita Tequileria y Comida and Round Table Pizza.
That mix explains the event's timing. The WGBA explains that the Health Department allows tasting sites that aren't restaurants to serve only individually wrapped, shelf-stable snacks, so most sites won't have much food. Check-in therefore runs from noon to 3 p.m., opening two hours before the first pour so ticket holders can have lunch on the avenue first.
The rest of the event rules are just as specific:
- Check-in closes at 3 p.m. sharp, and the WGBA doesn't refund tickets for a missed check-in window.
- Every attendee's ID is checked at the table.
- State alcohol rules don't allow carrying wine between tasting sites, so finish or pour out each glass before you walk on.
- Most tasting sites are small businesses whose restrooms can't take a crowd. Portable restrooms will be at the back of the Bank of America lot.
- Parking is free in the Bank of America lot that day, and the two-hour signs don't apply. The WGBA asks drivers not to park behind CVS or Orange Theory Fitness, where cars may be towed.
- Designated drivers and anyone else tagging along without drinking don't need a ticket.
- The event happens rain or shine. Refunds are available only when requested at least 72 hours ahead.
For that pre-walk lunch, the closest new option is at 1202 Lincoln. The Mercury News reported on October 21 that Black Sheep Brasserie has become Stacks' Wild Oak Grill. The space had run as a two-part concept for about two years, with Stacks serving breakfast by day and Black Sheep serving dinner in the evening. Wild Oak Grill serves breakfast and lunch until 2 p.m. every day, which covers the full noon-to-2 check-in window.
About 2,300 trolley seats for the whole neighborhood
The Holiday Trolley Rides are where the timing matters most. According to the WGBA, the trolley seats 32 people and runs six times a night at 5:15, 6, 6:45, 7:30, 8:15 and 9 p.m., for 12 nights. That works out to 72 departures and 2,304 seats for the whole season. That total is the ceiling. The WGBA also offers private parties the whole trolley on some nights and at some times, and every charter takes 32 seats out of public sale.
Each ride lasts 30 minutes and loads in front of the Bank of America at 1245 Lincoln. Departure times are firm, and the WGBA asks riders to arrive early for check-in. Adult tickets are $40 and tickets for children ages 2 to 12 are $20, plus fees. Children under 2 ride free but must sit on a lap, and dogs aren't allowed, including lap dogs. The ticket page describes the route as a ride past the holiday lights on the decorated yard trees of the surrounding neighborhood streets.
The trolley's schedule and Lincoln Avenue's kitchen hours don't fully line up. Wild Oak Grill is open until 9 p.m. most nights and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The trolley season begins on Sunday, December 6, and ends on Thursday, December 17, so only December 11 and 12 fall on a Friday or Saturday.
| Departure | Back at 1245 Lincoln | Time before a 9 p.m. close | Time before a 10 p.m. close, Dec. 11–12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:15 p.m. | 5:45 p.m. | 3 hours 15 minutes | 4 hours 15 minutes |
| 6:00 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 2.5 hours | 3.5 hours |
| 6:45 p.m. | 7:15 p.m. | 1 hour 45 minutes | 2 hours 45 minutes |
| 7:30 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 1 hour | 2 hours |
| 8:15 p.m. | 8:45 p.m. | 15 minutes | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | Closed | 30 minutes |
With small children, the 5:15 and 6 p.m. rides leave room for dinner afterward. For the 8:15 and 9 p.m. rides on a weeknight, dinner has to come first.
Wild Oak Grill's new menu brings over dishes from the Morgan Hill Wild Oak, including baby back ribs, pasta jambalaya, hanger steak, grilled salmon and the house burger. It also keeps several Black Sheep favorites, including the tomahawk pork chop, Mary's roasted half-chicken, rack of lamb and shrimp skillet. Owner Nate Habash told the Mercury News that the change was meant to "better align with community preferences." He described the grill as "a welcoming, family-friendly restaurant featuring an approachable price point, sports on TV and a great cocktail selection."
Santa sits in a movie house that closed in 1988
Selfies with Santa take place a block down the avenue at 1165 Lincoln, inside the Garden Theater. The building has its own history. Cinema Treasures records that the Garden opened as a single-screen theater on June 22, 1949. It closed in 1988, and the next year the interior was gutted and converted to offices and retail. The facade, the marquee and the vertical sign survived.
The Santa sessions are free, with donations accepted. They run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13, and again on December 19 and 20. The 10 a.m. start leaves time for breakfast, which Wild Oak Grill serves until 2 p.m. It's also possible to fit in the farmers' market at Willow Glen Elementary, open until 1 p.m. on both Saturdays. On Saturday, December 12, the morning can lead into an evening on the trolley, since that night is one of the two in the trolley run when Wild Oak Grill's kitchen stays open until 10.
The WGBA's 2026 Willow Glen ornament features BellaJames, the boutique that is also a Bubbly Walk tasting site. It costs $35 plus tax.
Between the decorated yard trees on the trolley route and the Garden's marquee above Santa's line, December shows Willow Glen's streets at their best. If you're thinking about what your home is worth before spring, Matt Tenczar and the Tenczar Team can give you a clear, local read on your street, block by block. Get Your Home's Value.
